The Winter Lion
by SyraxRider
Summary: First of all, I have to say that English is not my first language, so I apologize for the mistakes I will surely make. "Mama... help me." He remembers her, he can smell her scent and feel her hand caressing the side of his cheek. A lost boy he is. Just a lost boy who was made to be king. This is the story of Cerion Lannister, last son of Cersei and Jaime Lannister. Enjoy.


**[Sweet.]**

Her voice was always sweet at the beginning. She called for him from afar, urging him to come closer to her. Cerion smiled the brightest smile that anyone could ever imagine, and ran towards her with his little arms opened. Her hugs seemed always so warm, so safe. Cerion couldn't resist it, even when with every step he took, the floor started to shake under his feet and the voices started to turn into screams. He couldn't go back, he was afraid, but there was no way he could stop himself from making his way to Cersei. Once he were in her arms, everything would be fine.

But it was a trick. His mind played a trick on him, like it always did. And he knew it, but how would he stop his feet when his mother was calling for him? He would always respond to her call... and he would always fail, but never stop trying.

The raw smell of blood filled his nose as he approached the wooden door that was half open, the walls around him threatening to swallow his little body into the darkness. There was no running from it, no way to scape the horror that was waiting for him inside the room... so he ran to it, his eyes already wet. He knew how this ended.

It ended with his mother in the floor, a hole in her chest where her heart was supposed to be, and in which his father's sword stood, and red marks around her mother's neck where his father's hands had been, choking the life from her. Cerion wanted to kiss her, but his eyes were focused in a man's back, and then in a golden hand. He shouted at him, but he never turned to face his son. And then he just screamed until his throat was ripped.

 **[Sweat.]**

Cerion was soaked in sweat and tears when Genna woke him up. He tried to open his eyes, but they were so wet, he couldn't see her face.

"Hush, little one. You are safe now." Her words helped him to come back to reality, but his chest still ached and under it, his heart was beating faster than normal. He took her hand into his, and hold into it with as much strenght as he could, as if he was trying to keep her by his side forever. "Please, don't leave me. Please..."

Was he talking to Genna? No. He was talking to his mother, to Cersei. He wanted her to come back, to never leave. The tears were impossible to stop as the last lioness of Casterly Rock hugged the little cub between her arms, and sang a song that Jaime and Cersei loved when they were children. It helped him to sleep, and he always needed Genna by his side.

She cuddled with him until he relaxed, and they both sank into a deep sleep. Nights were always difficult for them, the same dream seemed to chase the boy since she could remember, and they were getting even worse with time. Genna was concerned about it, but there was nothing she could do but stay by his side when the nightmares arrived. He never told her what they were about, but she could imagine it. The way he spoke to her every time he woke up... it was how a son talked to a mother. Genna knew him too well, more than she ever knew her own, dead children.

"We need to do something." Cerion could hardly hear Genna's voice as the adults were talking outside the room, for they were whispering as if the conversation was a secret. "How much are you winning with the fishing, Addam?" The woman asked, she was always the one in charge, Cerion noticed. He was a good observer.

"Not so much. Fishing is what they do. That's how they earn money, how they live. I don't know anything about it compared to them, my lady. I could do better fighting. People usually love blood, but it feels like they only love sex here. It's rather frustrating for a soldier like me... I don't know what to do anymore." Addam was never that serious, not when he spoke to Cerion, at least. But he was talking to Genna now, and they seemed to be in trouble. The little boy stood up from the bed just so, and walked quietly towards the door, so he could have a better access to what they were saying.

"You have to be better. We have to be better. I need this boy to grow up, Addam. We owe him that much. He lost enough already, we can't lose this shitty house... or we will die. You know that as much as I do. The lysene won't think it twice when we stop paying them. That's how it works."

Cerion closed his little fists when he heard the word "lost", feeling how the sudden rage started to dominate his body. He didn't need to listen anything else, there had to be something he could do to help... something to keep whatever it was that he had now.

The streets were full of slavers, prostitutes, men and women who waited for their turn in the market. There were some boats too, people working the wood... but he was the only little boy who was alone. Nothing frightened him, not even when he was in the middle of this place with no one by his side. When the sun was up, he felt like nothing could touch him. He felt like a lion, like a king.

The lion walked among the lysene as if he was one of them, his golden curls and green eyes weren't revealing there and no one looked at him suspiciously. Better that way, he thought, because he needed to go unnoticed if he wanted his plan to succeed. He didn't stop until he found the right place- a stand that was ruled by an old, fat man who didn't seem one to run after anyone and most importantly, who wouldn't catch a turtle if he proposed it.

Cerion licked his lips then, he supposed that was what lions did when they were hunting and about to jump on a prey. As the good observer he was, he waited until he noticed where the man was hidding the gold, and then until he bowed and turned his back on him.

Fearless, the cub made his way throught the crowd and got himself under the table where the fish was placed. Bending over, Cerion walked in silence, carefuly. It was the first time he was doing something like that, but his Aunt's words were hitting in his head like a hammer. He had to help his family, he couldn't fail this time... it was his duty.

Once he arrived to the end of his walk, he reached for the box where the fat man kept the gold. His hand gropped for the cold, round coins to make sure it was what he was looking for... and when he found them, he took the box with him and started to walk his way out of the table. Drops of sweat were all over his forehead and chest, but when he finally stood up again, he smiled proudly, not caring to look back as he started to run away with what he hoped would solve all his problems.

"What the..." Cerion heard the man cursing him when he noticed the box was missing.

"Catch me if you can, you coward!" He felt the adrenaline igniting his bones, it seemed to make him even faster, stronger, braver. He loved the feeling, there was nothing better than this. Danger could make him forget about his demons. Danger kept this little boy alive.

"Go after him! Take him, he is a theif!" All of a sudden, there were three young, strong men running after him. Cerion wasn't counting on that, and his heart started to beat faster, the race was getting tougher, people blocked his way and at some point, his legs failed him and he fell to the ground, his knees bleeding as one of the chasers lifted him up by his white shirt.

"Little fuck. Where do you think you are going, boy?" His breath was disgusting, it smelled like dead rats. Cerion wrinkled his nose... and the man punched him in the pit of his stomach, forcing him to bend over.

"You will regret this! I am a lion, I am a lion!" Cerion screamed as much as his broken, childish voice let him. He wanted to roar.

They mocked him. "You look like a bleeding cat to me. The boss will have some fun with you, you will see." The last thing he saw was the lysene's dirty teeth when he smiled, and then knocked him out. Cerion tried to remember his mother's face, and called for her before he took the hit.

"Mama... help me."


End file.
